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There are some Christmas traditions that we still cannot do because of the restrictions like watching events, shows, or concerts. Watching movies on the big screen. Attending Christmas parties, reunions, or get together and most especially, spending the holiday in a different place or country.

Other people are busy planning and packing for their annual holiday, but here we are, we are not going anywhere. Our Christmas break is another staycation. I’m not bitter because one of the advantages of HOLISTAY is, it is more budget-friendly and less stressful. We have more time to relax, get more sleep, read a book or just do the things that we wanted to do but have no time. 

Stay-at-home vacation means we have more time for family bonding. And since the majority of us will spend the holidays at home, I’m sharing some ideas on how to spend the holidays at home especially if you have kids. 

I hope COVID19 won’t stop you from decorating your home for the holidays. We usually start as early as the first week of December so it will set our mood that Christmas is approaching. Kids and kids at heart love to put up Christmas tree and hang Christmas stockings. 

If you love crafting or DIY projects, I highly suggest making holiday ornaments or decors. No need to buy new ornaments every year, you can upcycle, recycle, or use whatever materials you have at home. Pinterest would be your best friend when you need some inspiration. Our Christmas tree is a testament to the different ornaments that we did every year. 

Nowadays, Christmas cards seem to be a thing of the past but we still make and send Christmas cards especially to my mom who is across the miles. Like Melanie White says, “Sending Christmas cards is a good way to let your friends and family know that you think they’re worth the price of a stamp”

If you are dealing with a holiday rush, allow your kids to help you in wrapping or packing presents. If time permits, deliver or ship your gifts as early as possible. 

Let us stop checking the weight loss calculator because “Calories don’t count on the holidays” so enjoy baking Christmas goodies with kids like gingerbread men, snowflake cookies, Christmas light sugar cookies, fruitcakes, and many more. The smell of the Christmas goodies will boost our holiday spirit. 

Since we are not yet comfortable watching movies on the big screen. We are thankful for our Netflix subscription because we can binge-watch holiday movies every night. Some wholesome and popular movies are The Christmas Chronicles, Klaus, The Princess Switch, Jingle Jangle, The Grinch, and many more. 

Offline is a new luxury so turn off the technology and have a family bonding. Have a family game night and play board games or cards. Our favorites are Monopoly, Chess, and Uno cards. Toddlers and kids also enjoy reading time, take time to read Christmas stories or Bible stories. 

Though offline is a good idea but remember, it is Christmas break so let your kids enjoy the holiday too. Let them play online games while you are busy preparing or cooking for the holiday menu. There are culinary-related online games that they can play too wherein they can learn about food, cooking, farming, culinary arts, restaurant business, and others. 

Pandemic or not, it is nice to end the year by writing a Highlight of the Year, creating a scrapbook, or printing a photobook. It is the best souvenir for the year and it is something that you can look back as the years go by. 

What are your favorite holiday activities with your kids?

Four years ago my son had his First Communion and just a week ago, he already had his Confirmation. If there is no community quarantine, my son will have his Confirmation last year because this is part of their event in their school. But there is no news about it so when my friend informed me that there is Confirmation here in our place, I immediately informed my husband about it so he can register my son.

Even though I don’t fully understand the Sacrament of Confirmation, I know that it is a special event for my son so I still prepare something for this event. First is the Confirmation Cake Topper, this is just a layer of glitter and metallic cardstock. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use this cake topper because my son doesn’t want a cake. He prefers to eat leche flan and the topper is too big for the flan. Anyway, it is still a souvenir that I will keep. 

And because of the COVID19 scare, only one parent and godparent are allowed to attend the Confirmation so I was not able to witness my son’s Confirmation but in spirit, I am there. Since there is only one godparent, I DIY the Confirmation Souvenir. 

I just personalized this mug using Teckwrap color-changing vinyl (hot) and designed a Care Card Instruction and Confirmation Gift Tag. I found the message on Pinterest and I just recreated it. I edited this file so just in case you need a souvenir tag, feel free to download it here. (size is 3x3 inches). 

I also make a card for my son, (the message is from Pinterest too). I did not buy a gift because I am taking a break from online shopping. I dislike delay delivery during Christmas Season so I just bought a gift at the mall after our celebration. 

After the Confirmation, my husband fetched me and we had lunch at Kuya J. I have a gift voucher that I want to use so we ate here. It’s been a long time since we at Kuya J and I was surprised when I saw their menu because the food that I used to order, was no longer there. My husband ordered Crispy Pata PHP590, Pinakbet PHP210, Rice Platter PHP125, Iced Tea Pitcher PHP180, Leche Flan PHP75, and Kuya J Halo-Halo Espesyal (Original and Ube) PHP120.

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Last month, my mother-in-law celebrated her 62nd Birthday and I made this cake topper using metallic and glittered cardstock in rosegold shades. I just bought the Samantha Upright Script Font last Black Friday Sale so I immediately used it to design this cake topper. 

For our potluck, I told my husband to order at Illo’s Party Trays; if you read my birthday blog post, dito rin kami nag-order. We tried the Ricardo’s Menu Package so for a change, we ordered Annelle’s Treat. The menu package has 4 viands, rice, and cake. 

Kare-Kare ni Lola Remy 

Crispy Pork Binagoongan 

Chicken Salpicao 

Fish Fillet with Special sauce 

Pandan Parsley Rice 

Cake of your choice 

We paid an additional PHP150 because we chose Tiramisu Love for the cake. My husband paid (online banking) and picked up the order as early as 9:00AM for our brunch celebration because my mother-in-law has dialysis after. 

Our potluck was a hit and my favorites are kare-kare and crispy pork binagoongan. Masarap yung bagoong nila. The tiramisu is just okay for me, I prefer the version of Contis and Cafe Mary Grace.  

* This post contains affiliate links.

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* This post contains affiliate links.

* This post contains affiliate links.

* This post contains affiliate links.

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If I don’t know what to buy, I create my own gift just like this Printable Alphabet Dot Marker that I prepared for my godson’s birthday. When my son was still in toddler years, I want him to do this dot marker activity but my problem is I don’t know where to buy the dot markers. But after I tried Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon last year (late bloomer) everything changed so now if I need something I just search and browse these e-commerce sites. 

For your information, there are so many benefits of dot marker activity like 

1. It improves the child’s fine motor skills, hand dexterity, and grip. 

2. It develops the child’s hand and eye coordination. 

3. It enhances color recognition. 

4. It encourages creativity and exploration. 

Since I was not able to do this with my son, I decided to make one for my godson. I purchased the Printable Alphabet Dot Marker here. The printable file includes Ai Source File, PDF file (ready to print), and PNG images. There are two pages that have typo errors so I contacted customer service about it so they can update the files. But I don’t have time to wait so I just corrected the two pages, added background colors, and personalized the pages. 

I printed the pages on 90GSM paper and trimmed them so they would fit my A4 laminating film. Lastly, laminated the pages so it won’t be a one-time use activity. You can buy more dot markers so there are more colors but unfortunately when I bought the dot markers, limited colors lang. Ayaw ko naman ng dark colors. Anyway, this activity is flexible, aside from dot markers, you can use stickers, pompom balls, or any stuff that will improve the fine motor skills of your child. 

* This post contains affiliate links.

This year, I’ve made Stained Glass Ornaments using Cricut Maker, acrylic ornament, vinyl sticker, silver glittered cardstock, and Sharpie pens. I got the SVG file from @makermaine. 

Cutting is easy but weeding these designs is not a joke. It really needs a lot of patience and determination. Lol, I felt motivated to continue when I finished weeding one design. It took me several hours to finish weeding including my failed stickers. 

The second challenge is, I have very limited Sharpie pens, I only have few colors to choose from. I almost stop this project because I wanted to order more Sharpie pens but I realized that it will take more days before my order will arrive. Baka abutin ako ng Pasko bago pa ako matapos so I went on. 

I stopped my project after coloring the acrylic. The following day, I added a silver glittered cardstock at the back and it made all the difference. It hides the imperfection of my coloring skills. :) Lastly, I used a silver metallic cord for the string. We don’t usually put our Christmas tree in November but I was excited to use my new ornaments so now our Christmas tree is finally up. 

This is a nice Christmas gift but it is labor extensive, masakit sa kamay at batok e.